Bag loading machine



April l, 1947. J. E. SOCK.; 2,418,142

BAG LOADING MACHINE Filed sept. 1o, 1942 2 sheets-sheet 1 E474 @y J I INVENTOR.

ATTOE/YE'YS April 1, 1947.

J. E. SOCKE BAG LOADING MACHINE l Filed Sept. 10, 1 942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

BY ,Q M mm /l TTOENEYS Patented Apr. l, 1947 BAG LOADING MACHINE John E. Socke, Pelham Manor, N. Y., assigner to American Can Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 10, 1942, Serial No. 457,877

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to a machine for loading paper bags with containers or cans and has particular reference to holding the bag open by vacuum in such a manner as to permit insertion of a maximum number of cans into the bag in exact predetermined relation and with greater packing efficiency.

In the can making industry it is of utmost importance to keep the empty cans clean during shipment and storage. To this end empty cans to be shipped over long distances are sometimes packed in large paper bags which are sealed when lled to prevent contamination of the cans. The cans are usually packed into the bags by hand. To facilitate this hand packing procedure according to conventional methods, the bag must be made larger than the actual total volume of the can spaces require. This is necessary to get the cans in place but results in a loose packing oi the cansA and a package which is sometimes awkward and difficult to handle.

The present invention contemplates overcoming these difficulties by providing a machine which will hold the bag to aspecific form so that cansA may be packed in straight row or staggeredv row formation as desired such specific form be'- ing adapted to utilize a bag of the smallest'size possible in which the total can volume is nearly equal to the volume of the bag so thatv the resulting filled package will be irm enough to handle easily without interfering with easy packing of' the cans into the bag.

An object therefore of the/invention is theprovision of a machine which makes possible easy and efficient loading oi paper bags with cans wherein the bag is held open on all sides andthe bottom to a specic form so that the cans may be loaded into the bag in a predetermined desired pattern which permits oi packing the greatest number of cans into a given bag space.

Another object is the provision of such a machine wherein use is made of the smallest size of bag to fit a given number of cans so that the resulting package will be rm and easily handled while permitting of the eilicient placing of the cans into the bag.

Another object is the provision of a machine of this character wherein the bag is held in position by a, vacuum pull on all of the walls of the bag and such vacuum is readily converted into a pressure for releasing the lled bag from the machine so that it may be readily removed therefrom.

Numerous other objects and advantages" of the invention will be apparent. as it isbetter understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferredA embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1- is a vertical sectional view taken through av machine embodying the instant invention, the View showing a lled bag in placein the' machine, parts of the machine and the` bag being broken away;

Fig. 24 is a perspective view of a lled` bagA in' sealed condition ready for shipment or storage; with aV portion of the bag broken away to view" cans packed therein;

Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively horizontalsectional views through two different forms of bags showing how they are used' for cans packed in straight row formation andina stagger row pattern;

Fig. 5 is a Vertical sectional view similar to Fig. l with parts added and showing the movable parts of the machine in a different' position Figs; 6 and '7V arelsectional details taken substantially along the line 6 6 and the broken'line T-l in Fig. 5, with parts broken away; and' Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the upper portion or the machine andan empty bag showing how the bag isV initially placed in the machine; the view being drawn at a reduced scale.

As a preferred` embodiment of the instant"in= vention the drawings illustratel a machine Afor holding in place, large paperA bags A (Figsi 1 2 and') in which cansiB are loaded for shipment and* storage. Such a machine'includes a generally rectangular stationary form or mold ll1 in which an empty bag A is placed fora loading operation.

The mold l i is formed with an inner perforatedwall l2 and a surrounding outer imperforate jacket wall I3 disposed in` spaced relation and` setting ofi an air space or air and vacuum cham.- ber t4 between .the walls. The upper edges of the two walls are .connected by a top wall I5'. The mold is disposed in a Vertical position with its top open end up so that the bag may beeasily inserted into it and all of'the walls of the bag will be surrounded .by the perforated inner walls of themold. This mold is mounted on afbase plate I1 which is supported on legs I 8.

The bag is placed within the mold manually and when in fully inserted position its bottom rests upon a perforated lifter plate 22 which is disposed within the mold and at such time rests upon and is spaced from the base plate4 lI- a. depending apertured peripheral ange (Figs. l

and The space between the lifter plate and the base plate is in communication with the chamber `I4 by way of apertures 23 formed in the inner Walls t2 of the mold adjacent their bottom edges and communicating with the apertures in the said depending flange of the lifter plate 22.

After an empty bag is inserted in place in the mold Il its sides and bottom are drawn into position tightly against the inner surfaces of the Walls l2 and against the lifter plate 22 to hold the bag in a predetermined open position. This is brought about by drawing a vacuum in the chamber space i4 and between the bottom of the mold and the lifter plate.

The vacuum is created preferably by a suitable source of air movement such as a rotating fan enclosed in a casing 25 (Fig. 5) having'a central air intake port 26 in the side thereof and an exhaust port 21 adjacent its periphery (see also Figs. 6 and 7 These ports communicate with respective intake and exhaust pipes 28, 255 which are secured in the casing. The outer ends of the pipes 28, 29 are supported in parallel and horizontal position in a bracket stand 3i and are threaded into a vertically disposed valve plate 32 located adjacent the stand.

The valve plate 32 carries an S-shaped conduit 34 which is mounted adjacent its upper end on a. pivot stud 35 (Fig. 5). The stud extends through the valve plate and is threaded into the conduit. At its upper end lthe conduit is connected by Way of a rotatable joint 35 to a flanged pipe nipple 31 which is threaded into the outer wallY I3 of the mould ll and communicates with the chamber space I4. The center of the rotatablejoint 36 and the stud 35 are in the horizontalalignment and this provides spaced bearing or swingsupports for the conduit.

l The lower end ofthe conduit 34 is adjacent the outer open ends of the intake and exhaust pipes 28, 29 in the valve plate 32 and is retained in close contact with the face of the valve plate by a` headed stud 4l which projects into an arcuatelslot. 42 formed in the valve plate. The stud extends through the slot and is threaded into adepending lug 43 formed on the lower end ofthe conduit( The lug also carries a handle 44 for manuallyshifting the lower end of the conduit laterally across the face ofthe valve plate 32. vWith this construction of valve device, the

lower'end of the conduit may be shifted ,into

communication with one or the other of the intake or exhaust pipes 28, 29 as desired.

When the lower end of the conduit 34 is in register with the intake pipe 23 as shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the cham-ber I4 of the mold il is in communication with the intake side of the fan in the casing 25 and thus air is withdrawn from the chamber to create the vacuum hereinbefore mentioned. It is this withdrawal of the air from the chamber and spaces surrounding the bag A-that holdsV the bag open and causes it to conform exactly to the shape of the mold as previously described. It will be understood thatv with a given inner peripheral surface for the mold the bag periphery will be the same.

When the bag is thus held open in a predetermined shape, the cans may be readily loaded into it. When the bag is loaded a paper cover C (Fig. 2) is placed over the cans and the upper edges of the bag are folded down against Ythe cover and are sealed with adhesive strips D.

the machine,

Before removing the filled bag from the ma chine its walls are released from the vacuum pull resulting from withdrawal of air from the mold jacket by the fan in the casing 25. This is brought about by shifting the lower end of the conduit 34 out of register with the intake pipe 22 and bringing it into communication with the `exhaust pipe 29. In this position of the conduit, the fan in `the casing 25 blows air under a slight pressure into the chamber E4 and into the space below the lifter plate 22 and thus breaks the vacuum therein. The air escapes from the chamber and-up through the lifter plate 22 by Way of the perforations in' these parts and thus releases the filled bag for discharge.

Discharge of the lled bag is eiected by raising the lifter plate 22, as best shown in Fig. 1. For this purpose the lifter plate is secured to a depending actuating stern 45 which extends down through a bearing il formed in the base plate E1. The lower end of the stem carries a reciprocable Ypiston 43 which operates within an air cylinder 49.

Compressed air is introduced into the cylinder and is exhausted therefrom, above and below Vthe piston by pipes 5l, 52 threaded into the cylinder adjacent its ends. These pipes may extend vfrom a source of supply of compressed air and a suitn able valve mechanism which controls Vthe direction of iiow of compressed air against the piston to raise the lifter plate 22 when it is desired to remove the filled bag A and to again lower the lifter plate to its original position for the recep-` tion of a subsequent empty bag. Such piston conf trol is well known and furtherdetails are con-gj sidered unnecessary for the present purpose.n

This completes the loading operation.

with such a machine the Vempty bag A is heid, inv place and to a predetermined shape or conis actually smaller than could be used to receive a batch of cans in such formation where the bag is packed in the conventional manner. ample, when 211A@ inch cans are formed into a mass made up according to the stagger row type as shown in Fig. 4, the plan area or floor space occupied is 18.976 inches by 25.531 inches. According to the teachings of the present invention such a stack of cans requires a bag of only.

18 inches by 241/2 inches. As far as overall dimensions are concerned it would appear that the cans could not be loaded into such a bag. However, when the bag is held to a predetermined contour as shown which is for this particular load of cans, the cans are placed easily and quickly within the bag and what is more important perhaps, the resulting package is rm and compact and easy to handle during shipment and storage. AThese same features also hold true for` the straight row load of cans as shown in Fig. 3 and?,

round parts.

It is thought that the inventionY and manyof its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent For ex-` or- ,other arrangements for cans having` that various changes may be made inthe for-m,

construction and arrangement-of `the parts with- Vout departing from the uspirit andscopeof the invention or sacrificing all of Vits material fadvantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

`therein for engaging the bottom of the empty bag, means on said lifter plate for holding the same in spaced relation to the bottom wall of said casing to provide beneath lsaid platea continuation of said chamber, vacuum means connecting -with said chamber for withdrawing air through the perforated inner walls of said mold including said lifter plate to draw the walls of the empty -bag by atmospheric pressure into close contact with said walls and plate to shape the bag for maximum efficiency in the loading of containers thereinto, and air pressure means also connecting with said chamber for blowing air under pressure through the perforated walls of said mold including said lifter plate to force the walls of the filled bag away from said mold walls to facilitate removal of the bag from the mold.

2. A machine for loading bags with containers arranged in a predetermined pattern to insure maximum eiciency in packing space, comprising in combination, a mold having combined straight and curved vertically disposed side walls arranged to receive an empty bag of minimum dimensions to be loaded with a specific formation of cans in rows with a minimum of clearance space therebetween, said mold including perforated walls for surrounding the walls of said bag, means for withdrawing air through said perforated mold walls from between the bag and mold walls so that atmospheric pressure within the bag holds the walls of the latter tightly against the surrounding straight and curved mold walls and so that the bag walls assume substantially the shape of the mold to insure maximum eiiiciency in the insertion of the containers within the bag, means for blowing air under pressure through said perforated mold walls in the reverse direction to release the filled bag of containers as an incident to its removal from said mold, and means having a permanent communicable connection with said perforated mold walls for alternate connection with said air withdrawing means and said air blowing means for the purposes described..

3. A machine for loading paper bags with containers arranged in a predetermined pattern to insure a maximum efficiency in packing space, comprising a mold for receiving and fully enclosing the sides and bottom of an empty bag to be loaded, said mold having perforated walls surrounding the walls of a bag when placed therein, a source of air movement,` and movable means having permanent communicable connection with said wall perforations and said source of air movement for passing air from said source of air movement through the perforations in opposite directions respectively when Said movable 4means is disposed in diner-ent positions, whereby the air is rs't exhausted from between the bag walls and vthe said `perforated "mold walls when said movable means is in one position to insure atmospheric pressure holding the walls of the bag tightly against the surrounding perforated walls of said moldand thus causing the bag to assume substantially the shape cf the mold -to insure efficient loading of the held bag, said movable means being thereafter operable to admit air under pressure from said source of air movement through the perforated walls of said l'mold when said movablemeans is in another position to blow the walls of the Afilled bag inwardly away from the walls of said mold to release the loaded bag for removal from the mold.

4. A machine for loading paper bags with containers arranged in a predetermined pattern to insure a maximum efciency in packing space, comprising a mold for receiving and fully enclosing the sides and bottom of an empty bag `to be loaded, said mold having inner perforated walvis surrounding the walls of a bag when placed therein, said perforated walls communicating with a surrounding air cham-ber, a movable conduit 1having a permanent communicable connection at one end with said chamber and selective communication at its opposite end with a source of air movement, whereby in one position of said movable conduit air is withdrawn by said source from the chamber to insure atmospheric pressure holding the walls of the :bag tightly against the surrounding perforated walls of said mold and causing the bag to assume substantially the shape of the mold to insure eiiicient iilling of cans into the held bag, said movable conduit when in another position admitting air under pressure from said source into said chamber to 'blow the walls of the filled bag inwardly away from the walls of said mold `to release the filled bag for removal from the mold.

5. A machine for loading paper bags with containers arranged in a predetermined pattern to` insure a maximum eiciency in packing space, comprising in combination, a mold for receiving and for fully enclosing the sides and bottom of an empty bag to be loaded, said mold having inner perforated walls surrounding the walls of a bag when placed therein, the perforations of said walls communicating with a surrounding air chamber defined by outer imperforate mold walls spaced from said inner perforated walls, a movable perforated lifter plate located in said mold for supporting the bag bottom, the perforation of the plate communicating with said chamber, a movable conduit connecting said chamber with a source of air movement, said conduit having a permanent communicable connection at one end with said chamber and selective communication at its opposite end with an air inlet connection and an air outlet connection on said source of air movement, whereby in one position of said conduit in communication with said air inlet connection air is withdrawn from said chamber to insure atmospheric pressure holding the walls of the bag tightly against the surrounding perforated walls of said ymold and causing the bag to assume substantially the shape of the mold to facilitate efficient loading of the held bag, said conduit when in another position in communication with said air outlet connection admitting air under pressure from said source of air movement through said conduit and the perforated inner walls of said mold to blow the walls of the lled bag inwardly away from the walls of said mold, and means for raising said lifter plate when the filled bag is thus released to facilitate removal of the bag with vits loaded and arranged contents. Y

6. A machine for loading paper bags with containers arranged in a predetermined pattern to insure a maximum eiciency in packing space, comprising in combination, a mold for receiving and for fully enclosing the sides and bottom of an empty bag `to be loaded, said mold having inner perforated Walls for surrounding the walls of a bag when placed therein, said perforated Walls communicating with a surrounding air Y chamber, a pivotally mounted conduit connecting said chamber with a blower means having separate air intake and output connections, said .conduit having at its pivoted end a permanent communicable connection with said chamber and being swingable on its said pivotal mounting into selective registry with said air intake and output connections of said blower means, whereby when the conduit is placed in registry with said intake connection air is exhausted from said chamber to insure atmospheric pressure holding the Walls of the bag against the surrounding inner Vper- Yforated Walls of said mold to cause the bag to substantially assume the shaperof the mold to .insure eiiicient loading of the held bag, said conduitwhen placed in registry with said output connection of said blower means serving to admit air under pressure from said blower means through the perforated Walls of said mold to release the filled bag `from its held position in said Y JOHN E. sO'CKE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of' this patent:

Y `UNITED STATES VPATENTS Number Name l, Date 1,532,153A Palmer Apr. 7, 1925 1,863,775 Ward June 21, 1932 I2,281,516 Royal hi-- Apr. 28, 1942 721,743 Richmond p Mar. 3, 1903 1,315,737 Milmoel f Sept. 9, 1919 n 1,943,483 Miller J an. 16, 1934 

